Non-Governmental Organisations: Overseas Aid

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid was channelled through UK-based non-governmental organisations in each of the last five years, broken down by type of aid budget line; and what allocations have been made for 2007-08 on the same basis.

Douglas Alexander: Total DFID expenditure channelled through UK Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in each of the last five years and planned expenditure for 2007-08 through the Civil Society Challenge Fund and Partnership Programme Agreements is set out in the following table. The table also includes planned funding in respect of the Development Awareness Fund and the Strategic Grant Agreement for 2007-08.
	DFID also provides ad-hoc funding to agencies and CSOs working in country or at a regional level responding to specific emergencies. DFID's Conflict, Humanitarian and Security Department (CHASE) estimate that in 2007-08 £8 million was spent on humanitarian relief across a range of natural disasters, from an earthquake in Peru to cyclones and floods in Bangladesh, India, Mexico, North Korea and. Pakistan, to winter shelter for extreme winter conditions in Kyrgyzstan. Of this, £5 million was provided through NGOs.
	There is no central allocation of funding through CSOs for humanitarian assistance projects or other parts of the DFID programme.
	Multilaterals also allocate funding to CSOs, among these are the European Commission, United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Because multilateral do not report the proportion of their expenditure allocated to CSOs, DFID are unable to attribute multilateral expenditure to CSOs.
	
		
			  DFID expenditure through UK CSO s for 2002-03 to 2006-07 and planned expenditure for 2007-08 
			  £000 
			   Total  Civil Society Challenge Fund  Partnership Programme Agreement  Humanitarian Assistance  Country and other DRD Programme 
			 2002-03 (actual) 222,845 13,056 57,227 93,822 58,739 
			 2003-04 (actual) 220,321 10,355 59,000 86,689 64,277 
			 2004-05 (actual) 232,930 10,106 65,263 91,187 66,374 
			 2005-06 (actual) 260,952 13,260 81,650 95,254 70,788 
			 2006-07 (actual) 274,309 13,539 89,141 85,423 86,207 
			 2007-08 (planned) — 14,280 90,191 — (1)4,200 
			 (1) Includes Development Awareness Fund and the Strategic Grant Agreement only 
		
	
	Final expenditure figures for 2007-08 will not be available until after the end of the fiscal year.

Armed Forces: Pay

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects outstanding payments arising from the operation of the Joint Personnel Administration to be made to security forces personnel.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 25 February 2008
	Once identified under payments are normally corrected in the next available pay run. If this is not possible arrangements are put in place for payments to be made at unit level. Without knowing which specific personnel the hon. Member is referring to, it is not possible to provide more information.

Departmental Pay

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1312W, on departmental pay to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar whether any staff in the home information pack division have received a bonus.

Caroline Flint: Staff in this division, like all others in the Department, are covered by the policy on the payment of bonuses as stated in a reply by my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Mr. Dhanda) to the hon. Member for South Holland and the Deepings (Mr. Hayes) on 18 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 1310-11W. Given the small number of staff in the home information packs division, it would be a breach of confidentiality and therefore inappropriate to give details.

Family Courts

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what research her Department has evaluated on parental alienation syndrome; what conclusions she has drawn; whether steps are being introduced to take into account research into parental alienation syndrome in family court proceedings; and if she will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
	We have not undertaken or evaluated research on this subject and have no plans to do so. Many difficulties can emerge following divorce or parental separation and children can be affected in a variety of ways. The Government believe that, where possible, parents should work together to agree contact and residence arrangements themselves and in the best interests of their children. The Children's Plan contains a commitment to improve support during and after family breakdown, including helping children to maintain contact with both parents. Where contact cases come to court, the child's welfare must be the court's paramount consideration. The Children and Adoption Act 2006 has extended the maximum duration of Family Assistance Orders from six to 12 months; This will expand the potential support that CAFCAS8 can provide in assisting families to respect agreements over contact The other provisions in the 2006 Act, when implemented, will give the courts more flexible powers in contact cases, including introducing contact activities, monitoring court-ordered contact, and new enforcement powers.

Housing: Unemployment

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the evidential basis was for the policy proposals on worklessness and housing made recently by the Minister for Housing in a speech to the Fabian Society; what research she has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on these matters; and what advice she received from officials on those policy proposals.

Caroline Flint: At my speech to the Fabian Society's conference on 5 February—which can be read at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/speeches/corporate/fabiansocietyaddress
	I called for a wide-ranging debate about how best to tackle the challenge of worklessness in social housing, examining the full range of options.
	Development of future policy proposals will be informed by this debate and by the range of available evidence, which includes the Hills Review of social housing, Housing Corporation research on "Housing associations tackling worklessness", CORE data on new social lettings, labour force survey data, family resources survey data and survey of English housing data.

INTERREG Programme

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 30 January 2008,  Official Report, column 442W, on Interreg Programme, if she will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of the last meeting of the Monitoring and Steering Committee which scrutinises Interreg III-B/IV-B programmes.

John Healey: The Interreg Monitoring and Steering Committees determine their own operating procedures and have decided that their discussions should be confidential to ensure that projects can be appraised objectively.

INTERREG Programme

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 30 January 2008,  Official Report, column 442W, on the Interreg Programme, if she will place in the Library a copy of the draft IVA programmes submitted to the European Commission and copies of the outline of the IVB and IVC programmes that have been approved.

John Healey: The draft IVA operational programmes can be found at the following web address:
	http://www.go-se.gov.uk/gose/euroFunding/strucFunds/territorialCoOp/?a=42496
	The approved IVB and IVC operational programmes can be found at the following web addresses:
	http://www.nweurope.org/upload/documents/programme/2473.10thdraftOP_July2007.pdf
	http://northsearegion.eu/ivb/content/show/&tid=38
	http://www.coop-atlantico.com/en/documentacao.php
	http://www.interreg4c.net/load/2007-07-26_INTERREG_IVC_OP_final.pdf

INTERREG Programme

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 30 January 2008,  Official Report, column 442W, what is the name and address of the Managing, Certifying and Audit Authority that oversees the Interreg III-B/IV-B programmes.

John Healey: The contact details for the current three Interreg programmes are provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Programme  Managing authority  Certifying authority  Audit authority 
			 North West Europe Conseil régional Nord Pas de Calais Hotel de Région - Centre Rihour - F- 59555 Lille Cedex Stéphane Pouilly, Directeur Europe Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations 15 quai Anatole France F-75700 Paris SP Mr. Sébastien Cazabonne CICC — Commission Interministérielle de Coordination des Controles — Fonds Structurels CICC : 5 place des Vins de France, F-75573 Paris CEDEX 12 (cf. 1.1). M. Jean-Pierre .JOCHUM, president Mme Armelle DAAM, chargée de mission Tel : 00 33 (0) 1 53 44 23 07 cicc@cicc.finances.gouv.fr 
			 North Sea Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority Vejlsøvej 29 DK-8600 Silkeborg Denmark Reference: Kaja Korgaard Central Denmark Region Skottenborg 26 DK-8800 Viborg Denmark Reference: Henrik M. Jensen Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority Dahlerups Pakhus, Langelinie Allé 17 DK-2100 København Denmark Reference: Ole Folkmann 
			 Atlantic Area Paulo Gomes Teresa Lameiras Armindo Carvalho Comissão de Coordenação e Desenvolvimento Regional do Norte(CCDR-N) Rua Rainha D. Estefania, 251 4150-034 Porto Portugal Phone: +351 226 086 300 Fax:+351 226 061489 E-mail: coop- atlantico@ccdr-n.ptcomunicacao@ccdr-n.pt Website: www.ccdr-n.pt José Santos Soeiro Institute Financeiro para o Desenvolvimento Regional, I.P. Rua de S. Julião, 63 1149-030 Lisboa Portugal Phone: +351 218814091 Fax: +351 218881111 E-mail: jose.soeiro@dgdr.pt Website: www.qca.pt Inspeccao-geral de financas Rue Angelina Vidal, 41 1199-005 Lisboa Portugal  Telephone +351 (0) 218113500 Fax +351 (0) 218162573 carlostrigacheiro@igf.min-financas.pt

Migration Directorate

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people her Department's Migration Directorate employs; what work it undertakes; and when it plans to publish the cross-Government action plan to ensure a co-ordinated approach to migration policy referred to in the Government's response to the Commission on Integration and Cohesion.

Parmjit Dhanda: The migration directorate in Communities and Local Government currently employs 10 members of staff and receives support from many other parts of the Department dealing with housing, cohesion and local government finance policy. It also works closely with CLG's analytical and economic advisers.
	The directorate's role is to co-ordinate the Department's work on migration issues and to draw together the work being undertaken across Whitehall on supporting communities in managing the local impacts of migration. The directorate will be developing an evidence base on the local impacts of migration, working closely with local government and other stakeholders, to increase our understanding of how migration affects different localities. CLG will be co-ordinating a cross-government action plan setting out practical steps central government can take to support local areas in managing the impacts of migration. Migration Directorate is working closely with the National Statistician who is leading a cross-government programme to improve population projections. The directorate also provides the secretariat, jointly with the Home Office, for the Migration Impacts Forum.
	Communities and Local Government plans to publish the cross-government action plan on the local impacts of migration in the spring.

National Lottery: Braintree

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which projects were awarded funding by the Big Lottery Fund in Braintree constituency in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The grants awarded by the Big Lottery Fund and its predecessors, the Community Fund and the New Opportunities Fund, in each of the last five completed financial years for the Braintree constituency and listed in the following table.
	The information is location specific. That is the list includes only grants that are specific to locations in the constituency and excludes grants that might have gone to addresses in the constituency, to headquarters offices for example, but are not otherwise related to it. The Department's lottery grants database is searchable at www.lottery.culture.gov.uk and uses information supplied by the lottery distributor.
	
		
			  Grants awarded by the Big Lottery Fund during the last five completed financial years to the constituency of Braintree 
			  Distributing body  Recipient  Award date  Award amount (£) 
			 Big Lottery Fund Braintree District Voluntary Support Agency (BDVSA) 9 September 2006 30,000 
			 Big Lottery Fund Braintree and Bocking Public Gardens Trust 23 November 2006 55,500 
			 Big Lottery Fund Mersea Island Festival Trust 10 May 2005 22,342 
			 Big Lottery Fund Braintree and District Crossroads 22 August 2005 13,425 
			 Community Fund Witham Housing Association 8 June 2005 25,590 
			 Community Fund Rayne Village Hall and Public Playing Fields 14 December 2005 63,023 
			 Community Fund Tabor Centre 12 August 2004 17,067 
			 Community Fund Witham Citizen Advocacy 6 October 2004 44,693 
			 Community Fund Tabor Centre 9 December 2004 18,000 
			 Community Fund Braintree, Halstead and Witham Citizens Advice Bureau 9 December 2004 52,556 
			 Community Fund Braintree and Bocking Community Association 1 August 2003 18,095 
			 Community Fund Essex Coalition of Disabled People 23 May 2002 200,717 
			 Community Fund Braintree and District Citizens Advice Bureau 24 May 2002 72,678 
			 Community Fund Shalford Village Hall 18 July 2002 33,565 
			 Community Fund Peering Good Companions Club 26 September 2002 6,570 
			 New Opportunities Fund Templars Community Housing Association 3 April 2003 80,000 
			 New Opportunities Fund 2nd Witham Boys Brigade 12 December 2003 9,985 
			 New Opportunities Fund Templars Community Housing Association 2 July 2002 3,500

Sports

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the top 10 sports were in terms of active participation by  (a) males and  (b) females aged (i) 14 to 16, (ii) 17 to 21, (iii) 22 to 24, (iv) 25 to 30, (v) 31 to 35, (vi) 36 to 40, (vii) 41 to 55, (viii) 56 to 59 and (ix) 60 years and over in the latest period for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The following table shows the top 10 sports in terms of active participation by males and females in various age ranges. The data is from Sport England's Active People survey (2005-06), and considers sports participated in at least once in the last 28 days.
	Data is unavailable for males and females aged 14 to 16-years-old.
	
		
			  Males  Percentage 
			  17 to 21-year-olds  
			 Football (all) 45.4 
			 Gym 16.8 
			 Swimming (all) 11.6 
			 Tennis 6.0 
			 Rugby Union 5.3 
			 Basketball 5.2 
			 Cricket 4.3 
			 Running Road 4.1 
			 Badminton 4.0 
			 Golf 3.9 
			   
			  22 to 24-year-olds  
			 Football (all) 33.0 
			 Gym 18.6 
			 Swimming (all) 12.2 
			 Golf 4.4 
			 Tennis 4.3 
			 Badminton 3.9 
			 Squash 3.7 
			 Running Road 3.4 
			 Cricket 3.1 
			 Weight Training 2.8 
			   
			  25 to 30-year-olds  
			 Football (all) 23.3 
			 Gym 18.9 
			 Swimming (all) 11.8 
			 Running Road 5.6 
			 Golf 5.0 
			 Squash 3.8 
			 Badminton 3.5 
			 Tennis 2.8 
			 Jogging 2.7 
			 Cricket 2.4 
			 Weight Training 2.4 
			   
			  31 to 35-year-olds  
			 Gym 16.0 
			 Football (all) 15.8 
			 Swimming (all) 12.5 
			 Golf 6.4 
			 Running Road 5.9 
			 Squash 3.2 
			 Badminton 2.9 
			 Weight Training 2.5 
			 Tennis 2.4 
			 Running Cross Country/Beach 2.2 
			   
			  36 to 40-year-olds  
			 Swimming (all) 14.5 
			 Gym 13.4 
			 Football (all) 11.9 
			 Golf 6.4 
			 Running Road 4.9 
			 Squash 3.1 
			 Badminton 2.7 
			 Tennis 2.5 
			 Weight Training 2.5 
			 Running Cross Country/Beach 2.3 
			   
			  41 to 55-year-olds  
			 Swimming (all) 11.8 
			 Gym 9.7 
			 Golf 6.9 
			 Football (all) 6.6 
			 Running Road 3.2 
			 Badminton 2.6 
			 Squash 2.2 
			 Tennis 2.1 
			 Running Cross Country/Beach 1.5 
			 Weight Training 1.5 
			   
			  56 to 59-year-olds  
			 Golf 8.2 
			 Swimming (all) 7.7 
			 Gym 5.8 
			 Badminton 2.0 
			 Running Road 1.5 
			 Tennis 1.5 
			 Football (all) 1.4 
			 Bowls (all) 1.3 
			 Squash 1.2 
			 Exercise Bike 1.2 
			   
			  60+year-olds  
			 Golf 7.2 
			 Swimming (all) 5.8 
			 Bowls (all) 4.0 
			 Gym 3.3 
			 Exercise Bike 1.0 
			 Tennis 1.0 
			 Badminton 0.9 
			 Keep Fit 0.6 
			 Football (all) 0.6 
			 Weight Training 0.4 
			   
			  Female  
			  17 to 21-year-olds  
			 Swimming (all) 23.4 
			 Gym 18.6 
			 Football (all) 5.1 
			 Badminton 3.6 
			 Tennis 3.5 
			 Running Road 3.3 
			 Aerobics 2.5 
			 Horse Riding 2.5 
			 Netball 2.4 
			 Jogging 2.0 
			   
			  22 to 24-year-olds  
			 Swimming (all) 22.1 
			 Gym 18.6 
			 Aerobics 4.6 
			 Running Road 3.4 
			 Badminton 2.8 
			 Tennis 2.6 
			 Football (all) 2.5 
			 Jogging 2.1 
			 Yoga 1.8 
			 Horse Riding 1.8 
			   
			   
			 Swimming (all) 21.7 
			 Gym 17.3 
			 Running Road 4.3 
			 Aerobics 4.2 
			 Yoga 3.0 
			 Badminton 2.0 
			 Football (all) 1.8 
			 Horse Riding 1.8 
			 Jogging 1.7 
			 Tennis 1.7 
			   
			  31 to 35-year-olds  
			 Swimming (all) 23.0 
			 Gym 14.2 
			 Aerobics 4.2 
			 Running Road 3.8 
			 Yoga 3.0 
			 Badminton 1.7 
			 Exercise Bike 1.7 
			 Tennis 1.6 
			 Horse Riding 1.5 
			 Jogging 1.5 
			   
			  36 to 40-year-olds  
			 Swimming (all) 23.2 
			 Gym 13.4 
			 Aerobics 3.8 
			 Running Road 3.2 
			 Yoga 2.7 
			 Badminton 2.2 
			 Tennis 2.0 
			 Horse Riding 1.9 
			 Exercise Bike 1.6 
			 Pilates 1.4 
			 Keep Fit 1.4 
			   
			  41 to 55-year-olds  
			 Swimming (all) 18.5 
			 Gym 10.9 
			 Aerobics 3.0 
			 Yoga 2.8 
			 Tennis 2.1 
			 Badminton 2.1 
			 Running Road 1.8 
			 Horse Riding 1.7 
			 Pilates 1.7 
			 Exercise Bike 1.6 
			   
			  56 to 59-year-olds  
			 Swimming (all) 15.1 
			 Gym 7.6 
			 Yoga 3.1 
			 Aerobics 2.2 
			 Pilates 1.9 
			 Keep Fit 1.8 
			 Golf 1.8 
			 Badminton 1.7 
			 Exercise Bike 1.6 
			 Horse Riding 1.1 
			   
			  60+-year-olds  
			 Swimming (all) 8.6 
			 Gym 3.1 
			 Keep Fit 2.5 
			 Bowls (all) 2.4 
			 Yoga 1.9 
			 Golf 1.4 
			 Exercise Bike 1.1 
			 Aerobics 1.0 
			 Aquafit 0.9 
			 Pilates 0.9

Sports: Young People

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what percentage of  (a) boys and  (b) girls under the age of 16 met the physical activity recommendations of 60 minutes or more of activity of at least moderate intensity on all days of the week in each year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what percentage of  (a) boys and  (b) girls under the age of 16 undertook less than 30 minutes of physical activity per day in each year for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is not collected centrally. The National School Sport Survey measures the percentage of children aged five to 16 doing at least two hours of high quality PE and school sport each week. The 2006-07 survey shows that this currently stands at 86 per cent.. Copies of the survey results have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what advice or guidance his Department provides to other departments on  (a) stage in the legislative process at which impact assessments should be carried out and  (b) the purpose of impact assessments.

Patrick McFadden: I have been asked to reply.
	In May 2007 Government introduced the revised impact assessment process to improve clarity and transparency of new regulations, including new requirements to summarise both the rationale for government intervention and evidence supporting the final proposal.
	The revised guidance supporting this process is clear that impact assessments should be developed from the earliest stages of policy making in order to assess the costs, benefits and impact of regulatory proposals. This guidance is available at:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/bre

Negative Equity: Greater London

Tom Brake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who have gone into negative equity in each London borough since 2000.

Angela Eagle: The Government have made no estimate of the number of people who have gone into negative equity in each London borough since 2000. Land Registry data shows an average monthly increase in house prices since May 2000 in each London borough of between 0.7 per cent. and 1.0 per cent., reducing the probability that individuals in London boroughs will have experienced negative equity in that period.

Public Expenditure

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to publish the next Long-Term Public Finance Report.

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the Long Term Public Finance Report for 2007 to be published.

Yvette Cooper: The Government publish the Long-term Public Finance Report to provide a comprehensive analysis of long-term socio-economic and demographic developments, and their likely impact on the public finances, based on the most up to date information available.
	The population projections provided by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) are central to this analysis. Given that ONS did not publish the new population projections until 23 October 2007, after publication of the 2007 pre-Budget report and comprehensive spending review, the next Long-term Public Finance Report will be published once it has been finalised.

Higher Education: Admissions

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many first time students  (a) aged 21 to 24 and  (b) aged 25 and over are expected to commence higher education courses at English institutions in 2008-09, broken down by mode and course of study.

Bill Rammell: The Government have a target to increase participation in higher education towards 50 per cent. of those aged 18 to 30 with growth of at least a percentage point every two years to the academic year 2010-11. the Government do not make projections of the number of students entering higher education in these specific age bands or by course of study.

Innovation: Education

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what innovations his Department and its predecessors have introduced into the  (a) university and  (b) further education system since 1997.

Bill Rammell: The major innovations which my Department and its predecessors have introduced into the higher and further education systems since 1997 have been set out each year in the departmental annual reports (copies of which have been placed In the Library).
	For higher education these include the Higher Education Innovation Fund to promote better links between HE and business; funding for the AimHigher programme which promotes outreach in schools and colleges to widen participation; personal support for part-time students for the first time; and the introduction of programmes involving employer co-funding of both HE and FE courses. Our comprehensive programme of reforms is transforming the FE system into the skills powerhouse for the future. The FE sector is now more able to respond to business needs for innovative people and we are embedding innovation in national skills academies.

Mature Students

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what percentage of mature students began their course aged  (a) 21 to 35,  (b) 26 to 30,  (c) 31 to 40,  (d) 41 to 50,  (e) 51 to 60 and  (f) over 61 years of age in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: The latest available information is given in the table.
	
		
			  Number and percentage of mature entrants( 1)  beginning higher education courses( 2)  at English higher education institutions academic year 2006-07 
			  Age group  Number  Percentage 
			 21-25 199,865 34.0 
			 26-30 106,990 18.2 
			 31-40 139,005 23.6 
			 41-50 91,895 15,6 
			 51-60 34,805 5.9 
			 61 and over 15,395 2.6 
			 Total 587,965 100.0 
			 (1) Includes full-time and part-time student from the UK and overseas. (2) Includes undergraduate and postgraduate courses.  Notes: 1. Figures are on a HESA standard registration population basis and have been rounded to the nearest five so components may not sum to total. 2. Figures exclude a small proportion of students with unknown age.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Mature Students

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what percentage of people studying a part-time level-4 qualification were aged  (a) 18 to 21,  (b) 22 to 25,  (c) 26 to 30,  (d) 31 to 40,  (e) 41 to 50,  (f) 51 to 60 and  (g) over 60 years of age in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: The latest available information is given in the table.
	
		
			  Number and percentage of students( 1)  studying part-time level 4 qualifications( 2)  in English higher education institutions academic year 2006-07 
			  Age group  Number  Percentage 
			 18-21 46,110 9.2 
			 22-25 65,600 13.1 
			 26-30 73,770 14.7 
			 31-40 135,395 27.0 
			 41-50 106,435 21.3 
			 51-60 46,075 9.2 
			 61 and over 27,335 5.5 
			 Total 500,720 100.0 
			 (1) Includes students from the UK and overseas. (2) Includes ail undergraduate qualifications.  Notes: 1. Figures are on a HESA standard registration population basis and have been rounded to the nearest five. 2.  Figures exclude a small proportion of students with unknown age,  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HISA)

Skilled Workers

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he has taken to improve the skills base in his Department in the last 12 months.

David Lammy: DIUS was created in June 2007 by the amalgamation of elements from BERR (formerly DTI) and DCSF (formerly DfES). As a consequence it has not existed for the 12 months specified.
	Both DTI and DfES; prior to the creation of DIUS had established processes and policies for the development of skills. These involved a range of training, education and coaching activities which were aimed at individual employees and team.
	During the period June 2007 to January 2008 any previously planned and commenced activities have continued to take place, providing a continuity of support for individuals and teams who transferred fern both prior departments. The Department is currently undertaking skills audits to ascertain development needs going forward.

Students: Loans

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what discussions he has had with the Student Loans Company on the comprehensibility of the bursary consent statement on the PN1 student finance application form.

Bill Rammell: The Student Loans Company (SLC) is responsible for producing the student loans application forms and guidance. In previous years, the application form has proactively sought the student's consent to share financial information with their HE institution. The SLC share this information with HE Institutions registered with the Higher Education Bursary Scholarship System, so that entitlement to a bursary can be assessed. The Office for Fair Access monitoring shows 12,000 students on full state support have declined to give consent so failing to collect their bursaries, DIUS ministers and officials have therefore worked closely with the SLC to improve the bursary consent arrangements on the 2008-09 student finance application form The introduction of an 'opt. out' clause, giving both the student and their sponsor an opportunity to opt out of consenting for their personal information to be shared with universities for bursary purposes, should increase the numbers of students assessed for and receiving bursaries. Clear guidance states that a decision to opt out of sharing data with universities does not affect entitlement to other forms of student support.

Vocational Education

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many students studied in work-based learning in each of the last 10 years.

Bill Rammell: Figures for those participating in work based learning (WBL) funded by the learning and Skills Council (LSC) can be derived from the individualised learner record (ILR).
	The following table shows the number of learners participating in WBL since 2001/02, the first time that a figure for the total number of learners in WBL during the academic year was published by the LSG, Train to Gain (TTG), a national service to support employers to improve the skills of their employees, was launched in April 2006.
	Figures are included in the table for the last two years.
	
		
			   Number of learners in 
			   WBL  TTG( 1) 
			 2001/02 503.9 n/a 
			 2002/03 521.3 n/a 
			 2003/04 535.9 n/a 
			 2004/05 519.5 n/a 
			 2005/06 489.1 27.3 
			 2006/07 463.9 169.4 
			 (1) Prior to the launch of TTG, the Employer Trainee Pilots (ETP) programme operated but data from ETP are not available on a comparable basis.

Immigration: Rural Areas

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of levels of immigration to rural communities in England of people from countries which acceded to the EU in  (a) 2004 and  (b) 2007.

Liam Byrne: The Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) provides information on both nationals of countries acceding to the European Union in 2004 who have registered with the Worker Registration Scheme (WRS) and Bulgarian and Romanian nationals taking employment in the United Kingdom since those countries joined the EU in 2007. This data is published quarterly in two separate reports: the Accession Monitoring Report and Bulgarian and Romanian Accession statistics, both of which include regional and sector breakdowns.
	A further breakdown of the WRS figures by local authority (based on employer's address) is available for local authorities.
	The most recent publications, relating to the last quarter of 2007, were published on 26 February 2008 and are available on the Border and Immigration website:
	http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/reports/
	I will make copies available in the House Library.
	The data in these publications are based on Management Information, are provisional, and may be subject to change. The data are not National Statistics.

Passengers: Personal Records

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what role she expects passenger name record data to play within the Government's eBorders programme.

Liam Byrne: Passenger name record data is included within the Other Passenger Information (OPI) which will be electronically collected from carriers for a sub-set of passenger journeys. The data will be used by the Agencies (e-Borders is a joint project, led by the Border and Immigration Agency in partnership with HM Revenue and Customs, UKvisas and the police service, working with the security and intelligence agencies) to perform risk assessments of the passengers prior to their entry to the UK.
	This analysis will, in the first instance, use automated rules based systems. Where a potential match is identified trained officers will undertake a final assessment before issuing an alert to the relevant agency. It is expected that carriers will be required to provide this data initially 24-48 hours in advance of departure to facilitate advanced risk assessments to be made.

Police: Cheshire

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police officers and  (b) police community support officers were employed in (i) Cheshire and (ii) Warrington in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 26 February 2008
	Warrington was a Basic Command Unit (BCU) of Cheshire police up to March 2005. From April 2005, the Cheshire police BCUs were consolidated from six (Chester and Ellesmere Port, Congleton and Vale Royal, Crewe, Halton, Macclesfield and Warrington) to three (Eastern, Northern and Western). Therefore from April 2005 onwards Warrington falls within the Northern Area BCU of Cheshire police.
	The available data are given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Police strength( 1)  (FTE)( 2)  within Cheshire police force area as at 31 March 1997 to 31 March 2007 
			  As at 31 March:  Police officers( 3)  PCSOs( 4) 
			 1997 2,046 — 
			 1998 2,042 — 
			 1999 2,071 — 
			 2000 2,011 — 
			 2001 2,002 — 
			 2002 2,059 — 
			 2003 2,119 2 
			 2004 2,177 50 
			 2005 2,186 52 
			 2006 2,174 75 
			 2007 2,192 176 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) For police officers only, full-time equivalent excludes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. For police community support officers only, full-time equivalent includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (3) For police officers only. Comparable strength (excludes those on career breaks, or maternity/paternity leave). The Police Numbers Task Force (2001) recommended that a clear presentation was made of the numbers of staff employed by police forces including those seconded into the force and those on any type of long or short term absence. These new calculations were first used in 2003, and are not comparable with data prior to March 2003. The police officered data from 2003 onwards used here are termed comparable because they have been calculated on the old basis to allow comparison. (4) Police community support officers were introduced in statute in 2002, therefore data is not available prior to 2002-03. 
		
	
	
		
			  Police strength( 1)  (FTE)( 2)  within Warrington basic command unit of Cheshire police as at 31 March 2003 to 31 March 2005( 3) 
			  As at 31 March:  Police officers  PCSOs( 4) 
			 2003 318 — 
			 2004 318 — 
			 2005 333 — 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Full-time equivalent includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (3) Data has been collected at the basic command unit level from 2002-03 onwards. Warrington BCU existed up to March 2005. (4) PCSO data has been collected at the basic command unit level from 2006-07 onwards. 
		
	
	
		
			  Police strength( 1)  (FTE)( 2)  within Northern area basic command unit of Cheshire police as at 31 March 2006 to 31 March 2007( 3) 
			  As at 31 March:  Police  o fficers  PCSOs( 4) 
			 2006 520 — 
			 2007 513 79 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Full-time equivalent includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (3) Data has been collected at the basic command unit level from 2002-03 onwards. Northern area BCU existed from April 2005. (4) PCSO data has been collected at the basic command unit level from 2006-07 onwards. However, the Home Office Police Human Resources Unit carried out two separate collections of police community support officer data, and as at 30 June 2005 there were 46 PCSOs, and as at 30 June 2006 there were 44.

Police: Information and Communications Technology

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make a statement on the way in which funds for technology have been allocated to police forces in England and Wales.

Tony McNulty: Police forces in England and Wales have been allocated £220 million in Capital Grant and Supported Capital Expenditure in 2008-09. The Home Office is responsible for allocating funding to police areas as a whole.
	Local investment and technological development in police information communications and technology is a matter determined by individual chief officers and their police authorities. It is a matter for the chief officer to determine the allocation of resources within the force, in accordance with both the local policing plan and day to day operational demands.
	The National Policing Improvement Agency was created in order to provide a single central source of advice for forces and the wider policing community across a wide range of policing issues, including police technology. It is responsible for the operation and development of national policing systems on behalf of the UK police service. The NPIA 2007-08 budget to run and develop national policing systems allows for gross capital and resource expenditure in the region of £129 million and £290 million respectively.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will give a substantive reply to Question 185046, tabled by the hon. Member for Thurrock on 1 February, on terrorism detention, in advance of the Minister of State for Security, Counter-Terrorism, Crime and Policing's meeting with the hon. Member for Thurrock scheduled for 27 February 2008.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 21 February 2008
	 I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 19 February 2008,  Official Report, columns 588-89W.

National Assembly for Wales

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what his policy is on increasing the National Assembly for Wales' legislative competence.

Paul Murphy: The Government of Wales Act 2006 provides for the National Assembly to gain new legislative powers on specific matters with the agreement of Parliament. I laid the first draft Order, the Additional Learning Needs under the new procedures on 6 February 2008.

Employment

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which 10 job classifications have shown the greatest  (a) growth and  (b) decline in employment in (i) the United Kingdom and (ii) Nottingham North constituency since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 27 February 2008:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on the ten job classifications which have shown the greatest (a) growth (b) decline in employment in (i) the United Kingdom and (ii) Nottingham North constituency since 1997. I am replying in her absence. (188513)
	The Office for National Statistics compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
	Table 1 attached provides estimates of total employment for people resident in the. UK and in the Nottingham North Parliamentary constituency, by occupation. The figures provided are for the twelve months ending February 2002 and for die latest period, the twelve months ending March 2007. The source data used is the APS, using Standard Occupational Classification 2000 (SOC2000), The twenty-five occupational classifications are ranked according to the largest positive change in Nottingham North. Data prior to 2002 are classified using Standard Occupational Classification 1990 (SOC90). Consequently it is not possible to provide a consistent time series for the period requested.
	Since these estimates are for a subset of the population in a small geographical area, they are based on small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty. In this case, for the Nottingham North, the sample sizes are not sufficient to give accurate estimates in all instances.
	
		
			  Total employment by standard occupational classification( 1)  (two digit) United Kingdom and Nottingham North( 2) 
			  Thousand 
			UK  Nottingham North 
			March 2001  to  February 2002  April 2006 to March 2007  Net change 2002 to 20 07  March 2001 to February 2002  April 2006 to March 2007  Net change 2002 to 20 07 
			 61 Caring personal service occupations 1,499 1,733 234 3 4 1 
			 82 Transport and mobile machine drivers/operatives 1,035 1,087 52 2 3 1 
			 41 Administrative occupations 2,755 2,585 -170 3 4 1 
			 71 Sales occupations 1,847 1,791 -56 2 3 1 
			 92 Elementary administration and service occs 2,275 2,285 10 5 5 0 
			 32 Health and social welfare assoc. professional 893 1,088 195 1 2 0 
			 12 Managers/proprietors in agriculture/services 849 849 -1 1 1 0 
			 54 Textiles, printing and other skilled trades 618 531 -87 1 1 0 
			 72 Customer service occupations 327 378 50 1 1 0 
			 62 Leisure and other personal service occs 505 551 46 1 1 0 
			 53 Skilled construction and building trades 1,010 1,122 112 2 1 0 
			 11 Corporate Managers 2,933 3,398 465 2 2 0 
			 31 Science and technology associate professionals 537 495 -42 1 1 0 
			 35 Business and public service assoc. professional 1.383 1,516 133 2 1 -1 
			 81 Process, plant and machine operatives 1,263 969 -293 3 2 -1 
			 52 Skilled metal and electronic trades 1,347 1,183 -164 3 2 -1 
			 21 Science and technology professionals 961 1,015 54 2 1 -1 
			 91 Elementary trades, plant and storage related 1,017 961 -56 3 1 -1 
			 24 Business and public service professionals 801 960 159 * * * 
			 23 Teaching and research professionals 1,182 1,358 175 * * * 
			 34 Culture, media and sports occupations 545 618 73 * 1 * 
			 51 Skilled agricultural trades 283 303 20 * * * 
			 33 Protective service occupations 314 311 -3 * * * 
			 42 Secretarial and related occupations 943 826 -117 * * * 
			 22 Health professionals 259 327 68 * * * 
			 * Sample size too small to provide an estimate (1 )Standard Occupational Classification (SOC2000) (2) Parliamentary Constituencies 2005 Revision  Notes: 1. As with any sample survey, estimates from the Annual Population Survey are subject to a margin of uncertainty. 2. APS figures are grossed to population estimates consistent with those published in spring 2003 which are significantly lower than the latest population estimates as used in the Labour Market Statistics. 3. At the two digit SOC2000 level therefore twenty-five classification groups. 4. All 25 occupational classification groups are provided, ranked according to the largest positive change in Nottingham North.  Source:  Annual Population Survey

Post Offices: Reorganisation

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimates his Department has made of the number of people that will reside more than three miles away from a post office following the restructuring of the Post Office branch network, broken down by region of residency.

Patrick McFadden: The Government have set national access criteria set to ensure that post office services continue to be available across the country. These include criteria requiring that, nationally, at least 99 per cent. of the UK population are within three miles of their nearest post office outlet, and that at least 95 per cent. of the total rural population of the UK are within three miles of their nearest post office outlet.

Temporary Employment: Conditions of Employment

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what measures the Department has introduced to protect the employment rights of agency workers; and what plans he has to introduce further such measures.

Patrick McFadden: Agency Workers are already entitled to employment rights such as the national minimum wage and working time entitlements such as paid annual leave, and new regulations to protect vulnerable agency workers will come into force on 6 April 2008.
	The proposed Employment Law Bill will also give greater investigative powers to Agency Inspectors, increase the potential level of fines for breaching the regulations and reform the current system of dispute resolution at work.

Departmental Marketing

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many posters or displays there are in the offices of his Department and its agencies displaying the names and photographs of Ministers; and how much was spent by his Department and its predecessor on producing such posters or displays in the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: The Department has two displays containing the names and photographs of the ministerial team at its head office in Sanctuary Buildings. These photographs have been updated at a total cost of £2038,
	There are no posters dedicated to this information, although Ministers are included secondarily on a general organisation chart.
	Records are not held centrally for any expenditure made by agencies to display this information.

Departmental Public Relations

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many external contracts his Department held with public relations companies since its inception; and what the total cost of those contracts was.

Kevin Brennan: The information provided relates to both the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, which were formed following the machinery of government changes in June 2007. It is not possible to provide separate costs for each Department during 2007-08 except at disproportionate cost.
	Both Departments employ public relations agencies for specific communications tasks, most commonly working alongside our press offices to provide campaign support in local, regional and specialist media companies, They have used such agencies for 15 campaigns at a cost of £1,085 million since June 2007. These figures include contracts placed by both Departments using a framework agreement and by the Central Office of Information (COI) on our behalf.

Departmental Recycling

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recycling schemes are in operation in each building operated by his Department.

Kevin Brennan: The Department manages the following recycling initiatives as a co-ordinated scheme throughout all its headquarters buildings:
	Redundant furniture and electronic equipment (that cannot be re-used) is sent for recycling by third parties;
	Waste from food production and consumption (where it can be separated and is in sufficient volume) is sent for recycling;
	Our Department's print suppliers are required to use the Dft Recycled Printing Papers framework, all paper used for printing publications must be recycled and the paper from any publications sent for disposal is recycled for use by participants of the DfT Printing Papers framework;
	External contractors provide the safe collection and recycling of a variety of materials e.g., paper, cardboard, plastic cups and cans, glass, toner cartridges, plastic bottles, batteries, light bulbs and tubes;
	All waste is constantly monitored, to identify further potential areas for recycling;
	Green waste from grounds maintenance is sent for recycling by our contractors; and
	Waste at our Sheffield office that cannot be reclaimed or re-used is sent to be turned into steam for heating and bought back .for use in the Sheffield building.
	We also manage the following re-use and reclaim schemes that count as part of our performance on recycling for departmental returns:
	Surplus furniture and electronic equipment is reclaimed for reuse within the Department itself or sent for re-use by third parties;
	Surplus mobile phones are collected and donated for sale by charities to re-use;
	Electronic noticeboards are available to advertise surplus office materials and so minimise the need for ordering further Items and potentially increasing wastage;
	As part of office moves, contacts am encouraged to use the electronic noticeboard when preparing to disperse surplus and redundant materials to other teams; and
	Staff are encouraged to use suitable paper waste as scrap pads.
	In the Department's Sustainable Development in Government return for 2005/06 were pleased to report 43 per cent. of our waste recycled and the 2010 target already met The Departments return for 2006/07 is due for publication by the Sustainable Development Commission soon.

Educational Visits

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps the Government have taken to encourage schools to make school trips  (a) affordable by and  (b) available to all pupils.

Jim Knight: Through the manifesto for Learning Outside the Classroom, we are encouraging schools, local authorities and visit providers, to sign up to the vision that
	"every young person (0-19) should experience the world beyond the classroom as an essential part of learning and personal development, whatever their age, ability or circumstances".
	Almost 900 have already done so.
	Through our manifesto partners and other channels we are promoting the personal and educational benefits of learning outside the classroom to schools and parents. The 'Out and About package' of guidance, practical tools, resources and training modules for schools will be published in the summer term.
	With the new secondary curriculum, being introduced from this September, we are emphasising the importance of relevant practical experiences as part of subject teaching.
	Not all learning outside the classroom incurs a financial cost, for example, many schools use their grounds and local area. When schools do go further afield, for example on day visits, they are not permitted to charge pupils if these visits are wholly or mainly during school time, or are linked to the curriculum or external examination courses, although they may request a contribution towards costs.

Health Education: Sex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what research his Department  (a) has commissioned,  (b) plans to commission and  (c) has evaluated on the effectiveness of the teaching of sex education in schools; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The Department has not commissioned research on the teaching of sex education in schools. However, as part of the Children's Plan we have given a commitment to review best practice in effective sex and relationship education (SRE) and how it is delivered in schools. We have listened to young people and recognise that many feel that they do not currently have the knowledge they need to make sale and responsible choices about relationships and sexual health. We will involve young people fully in the review to make sure that future SRE better meets their needs.

Youth Services

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the targeted youth support pathfinders set out in the Respect Action Plan.

Beverley Hughes: Evaluation started in October 2006 and will continue until September 2008, Findings from the interim report (due to be published at the end of November) suggest early benefits from the pathfinders: at a strategic level improved multi-agency working and better engagement of practitioners and schools has been perceived.
	At an operational level there are reports of raised profile of services, collective ownership and a better understanding of the holistic needs of young people. Practitioners report early gains such as more tailored, coordinated support for those below the statutory thresholds, and therefore earlier intervention.
	Evaluation is at too early a stage to provide robust information about the impact on young people. These findings will emerge during the course of next year.

Aceh: Earthquakes

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the earthquake in Indonesia's western province of Aceh.

Meg Munn: Indonesia sits along a volatile seismic strip called the 'Ring of Fire' in the Pacific. The possibility of volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis is ever present. An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale struck undersea near Aceh Province on 20 February. The community which recorded the strongest tremor is reported to be Meulaboh, Aceh. Five people were killed, 52 seriously injured and many buildings were damaged. Our embassy in Jakarta continues to monitor the situation, but report no British casualties.
	In addition, a further earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra on 25 February. The Indonesian authorities report that there does not appear to be any visible damage. In both cases, tsunami warnings were issued but later lifted. Again, our embassy in Jakarta continues to monitor the situation.

Climate Change: Finance

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the levels of additional climate change mitigation expenditure made by other countries to date intended to meet the target of one per cent of global gross domestic product recommended by the Stern Review.

Jim Murphy: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is pursuing an extensive programme of engagement with the UK's international partners to build the necessary political will to reduce global carbon emissions levels and secure the commitment of governments in key countries to ensuring that high quality climate change mitigation work is undertaken.

Departmental Travel

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on travel  (a) within and  (b) outside the UK for officials in each of the last 10 years; and what percentage of his Department's overall expenditure was spent on such travel in each such year.

Jim Murphy: The amount spent by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, on UK and overseas travel in each of the last 10 years, is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Overseas travel  UK travel 
			  Financial year  Spend (£ million)  Percentage of total( 1)  Spend (£ million)  Percentage of total( 1) 
			 1997-98 30.1 — 0.9 — 
			 1998-99 29.8 — 0.8 — 
			 1999-2000 35.0 2.98 1.0 0.09 
			 2000-01 35.3 2.29 1.0 0.06 
			 2001-02 42.0 2.86 1.1 0.07 
			 2002-03 39.0 2.52 1.2 0.08 
			 2003-04 39.0 2.44 1.4 0.09 
			 2004-05 41.5 2.36 1.5 0.09 
			 2005-06 45.8 2.43 2.0 0.11 
			 2006-07 53.6 2.80 2.4 0.13 
			 (1) The Department's first audited resource accounts were published in 1999-2000 and so no percentage figure is given for earlier years. 
		
	
	The expenditure is show as a percentage of the Department's net resource outturn, as given in the departmental resource accounts published for each year.
	The figures include the costs of duty travel, for officials based in the UK and overseas, and the costs of travel for UK based staff and their families on their arrival at and departure from post, as well as leave journeys undertaken whilst at post.
	The recent increase in expenditure can be attributed in part to the increased number of staff based in posts in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the costs of travel out of the country are high. Another contributory factor is that some travel payments which were formerly paid as allowances to staff are now paid from the travel budget. It is not possible to provide further detail without incurring disproportionate cost.

Diego Garcia: Military Bases

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received from the Government of Mauritius on  (a) the use of Diego Garcia and  (b) the future military use of the Chagos Islands.

Meg Munn: The Prime Minister of Mauritius, Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam, last raised the issue of sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister in the margins of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Kampala in November 2007. The Government have no doubt about its sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory, but my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister agreed to establish a dialogue between the Mauritian high commission in London and officials at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on issues relating to the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Maldives: Elections

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions UK diplomatic staff have met leaders of opposition parties in Maldives distinguishing  (a) on social occasions and  (b) for formal meetings; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: British officials based in our high commission in Colombo, but accredited to the Republic of the Maldives, have met formally with the three official opposition parties, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the Islamic Democratic Party and the Adallath (Justice) Party, and two unofficial opposition groups, the New Maldives Movement and Social Liberal Party, at a senior level at least once in the last 12 months. Officials frequently meet with the MDP either in Colombo or the Maldives. Officials are in regular contact with opposition politicians.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not keep records of social contacts with Maldivian politicians.

Maldives: Human Rights

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the observance of human rights in the Republic of the Maldives; and what representations the UK Government have made to the government of the Republic of the Maldives on human rights over the past two years.

Kim Howells: The human rights situation in Maldives has improved in recent years. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has concerns about some criminal investigations by the police which appear politically motivated, the treatment of detainees, the use of corporal punishment and inconsistent sentencing policy. Freedom for the media and political activists has improved noticeably over the last two years, but concerns remain. The first multi-party elections, scheduled for later in 2008, will be the first real test for these developments.
	The transition to a multi-party democracy is the best basis for continued improvement. When my noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown, met President Gayoom of Maldives in July 2007, he underlined the need to keep the reform process on track and the importance of this year's elections being free, fair, inclusive and supported by the Maldivian people.

Nuclear Disarmament

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to maintain staff numbers at the multilateral arms control and disarmament office of the UK permanent mission to the conference on disarmament in Geneva during the period of the UK presidency of the conference on disarmament, and in the lead up to the 2010 review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The number of staff at the multilateral arms control and disarmament office of the UK permanent mission to the conference on disarmament in Geneva will be increased by one official this summer. The staffing requirements will be kept under regular review during the period of the UK presidency of the conference on disarmament and in the lead-up to the 2010 review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

Papua: Human Rights

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in West Papua; what recent diplomatic steps he has taken on that issue; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: Indonesia has undergone a remarkable transformation over the last 10 years. Overall the human rights situation has improved significantly. Nevertheless, we recognise that many challenges remain and we continue to hear reports of human rights abuses in Papua. Many of these are difficult to verify but there do appear to be problems with access to justice and intimidation of human rights defenders.
	We judge that the Indonesian government is committed to promoting development efforts in Papua and further improvements in the human rights situation. We welcome their increasing openness to international scrutiny, as evidenced by their invitations to the UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders, Hina Jilani, in June 2007 and Professor Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, in November 2007, to visit Papua.
	Our embassy in Jakarta follows the situation in Papua closely and embassy officials were in Papua most recently from 15 to 20 February. While there, they held discussions with local officials, non-governmental organisations and representatives of religious organisations, on a range of issues, including human rights. We continue to support organisations working to promote human rights in Papua, such as Peace Brigades International.
	I met the Governor of Papua, Barnabus Suebo, on 25 October 2007. We discussed the situation in Papua, including human rights. We will continue to raise our concerns with the relevant authorities.

Vietnam: UN Security Council

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Vietnamese Government on its role on the UN Security Council, with particular reference to that country's relations with China.

Meg Munn: The UK works closely with all members of the UN Security Council to ensure the body is effective in tackling threats to international peace and security. Officials in New York and London have held meetings with officials of newly elected members, including Vietnam, to explore how we can work together on the Council. A Vietnamese ministerial team, lead by Vice-Minister Le Van Bang, visited the UK on 29-30 November 2007. The Vice-Minister had meetings with me and Whitehall officials on various issues before the Council including Burma, counter-terrorism and counter-proliferation.

Crime: Pregnant Women

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward legislation to enable unborn children to be treated as separate victims in criminal cases; what recent representations he has received about the issue; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: It is not necessary to change the law so that unborn children may be treated as separate victims. Under section 58 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 it is an offence to act to procure a miscarriage (subject to the Abortion Act 1967). And under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, it is an offence for any person intentionally to destroy the life of a child capable of being born alive. Injury to a foetus, if proved, is likely to be treated in law as an injury to the mother and prosecutable under the Offences Against the Person Act 186 l. The loss of an unborn child may also be taken into account as an aggravating factor in sentencing any person convicted of killing or harming the mother.
	We have received correspondence on this issue from relatives of a murder victim who was pregnant at the time of her death; and a petition with 910 signatures following the death of an unborn child as the result of a road traffic accident.

Departmental Public Participation

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many consultations undertaken by private contractors his Department commissioned in the last 12 months; who carried them out; and what the cost was of each.

Maria Eagle: In the last 12 months my Ministry has not commissioned private contractors to carry out any consultations in their entirety. However, private contractors, including third sector organisations, have carried out certain aspects of a number of consultations for Ministry of Justice. Details are in the following table.
	
		
			  Name of consultation(s)  Name of private contractor  What they have been commissioned to do  Cost  (£) 
			 MoJ Third Sector Strategy: Improving policies and securing better Public services through effective Partnerships (and NOMS Third Sector Strategy) Sand Resources Ltd 35 days' consultancy work, contracted to draft MoJ consultation paper, help analyse responses and help produce final strategy paper. Also contracted to help analyse responses to NOMS Third Sector Action Plan and help develop final NOMS Action Plan 35,000 
			 Draft Coroners Bill—reporting restriction provisions Opinion Leader Research One day workshop with stakeholders including representatives from the media and voluntary sectors and with coroners 6,830 
			 NOMS Third Sector Strategy CLINKS (Third sector organisation) Run four Third Sector stakeholder events 20,000 
			 NOMS Believing We Can CLINKS Run two Faith stakeholder events in the North West 10,000 
			 NOMS Thirds Sector Strategy/Believing We Can Lincolnshire Action Trust (Third sector organisation) Run consultation events and develop third sector and faith alliances in the East Midlands (1)8,950 
			 NOMS Thirds Sector Strategy/Believing We Can Futures Unlocked (Third sector organisation) Run consultation events and develop third sector and faith alliances in the East Midlands (1)9,010 
			 Review of remuneration of Tribunals' Judiciary PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Advise the senior salaries review on remuneration of tribunals' judiciary, which included job evaluation and consultation on behalf of SSRB (2)185,841 
			 (1) Grant funding. (2) Please note that while this consultation was funded by the Ministry of Justice it was commissioned by the Office of Manpower Economics (OME). OME provides the secretariat for the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB).

Prisons: Crimes of Violence

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 307-9W, what additional reports of  (a) prisoner on prisoner and  (b) prisoner on officer assaults have been received for each prison establishment in 2007 since the answer was given.

Maria Eagle: The information requested as set out in the table is subject to important qualifications. The Prison Service Incident Reporting System processes high volumes of data which are constantly being updated. The numbers provide a good indication of overall numbers but should not be interpreted as absolute. Assault data is complex and may include threatening behaviour, projection of bodily fluids and other non-contact incidents and allegations. Information on assault incidents may involve more than one assaulter or more than one victim. In a proportion of incidents only the victim is known.
	Assault information is recorded at establishment level in four categories:
	Prisoner on Prisoner, Prisoner on Officer, Prisoner on Other and Other. Recording of assaults on prison officers sometimes includes assaults on other prison staff.
	
		
			  (a) Prisoner on Prisoner 
			  Prison name  2007 data as in original answer( 1)  Latest 2007 data available( 1)  Difference 
			 Acklington 65 65 0 
			 Albany — — NOM 
			 Altcourse 223 226 3 
			 Ashfield 650 652 2 
			 Ashwell 17 17 0 
			 Askham Grange 1 1 0 
			 Aylesbury 76 79 3 
			 Bedford 36 36 0 
			 Belmarsh 25 25 0 
			 Birmingham 105 108 3 
			 Blakenhurst 212 213 1 
			 Blantyre House 0 0 0 
			 Blundeston 33 33 0 
			 Brinsford 184 187 3 
			 Bristol 72 73 1 
			 Brixton 56 56 0 
			 Brockhill 8 8 0 
			 Bronzefield 98 98 0 
			 Buckley Hall 36 37 1 
			 Bullingdon 68 68 0 
			 Bullwood Hall 10 10 0 
			 Camp Hill — — NOM 
			 Canterbury 19 20 1 
			 Cardiff 25 25 0 
			 Castington 383 384 1 
			 Channings Wood 52 54 2 
			 Chelmsford 32 32 0 
			 Coldingley 11 11 0 
			 Cookham Wood 5 5 0 
			 Dartmoor 25 26 1 
			 Deerbolt 159 160 1 
			 Doncaster 124 127 3 
			 Dorchester 31 32 1 
			 Dovegate 54 54 0 
			 Downview 11 12 1 
			 Drake Hall 18 20 2 
			 Durham 126 127 1 
			 East Sutton Park 0 0 0 
			 Eastwood Park 15 15 0 
			 Edmunds Hill 25 26 1 
			 Elmley 123 125 2 
			 Erlestoke 35 35 0 
			 Everthorpe 69 69 0 
			 Exeter 24 24 0 
			 Featherstone 90 90 0 
			 Feltham 425 427 2 
			 Ford 6 6 0 
			 Forest Bank 213 213 0 
			 Foston Hall 28 28 0 
			 Frankland 31 31 0 
			 Full Sutton 50 52 2 
			 Garth 64 64 0 
			 Gartree 12 12 0 
			 Glen Parva 362 364 2 
			 Gloucester 47 47 0 
			 Grendon/Spring Hill 5 5 0 
			 Guys Marsh 72 72 0 
			 Haverigg 68 68 0 
			 Hewell Grange 3 3 0 
			 High Down 112 115 3 
			 Highpoint 79 80 1 
			 Hindley 497 497 0 
			 Hollesley Bay 3 3 0 
			 Holloway 112 114 2 
			 Holme House 123 124 1 
			 Hull 138 140 2 
			 Huntercombe 279 280 1 
			 Kennet 4 5 1 
			 Kingston 1 1 0 
			 Kirkham 3 3 0 
			 Kirklevington 0 0 0 
			 Lancaster 19 19 0 
			 Lancaster Farms 337 357 20 
			 Leeds 92 92 0 
			 Leicester 34 34 0 
			 Lewes 61 63 2 
			 Leyhill 2 4 2 
			 Lincoln 87 87 0 
			 Lindholme 51 51 0 
			 Littlehey 37 37 0 
			 Liverpool 225 226 1 
			 Long Lartin 43 43 0 
			 Low Newton 63 64 1 
			 Lowdham Grange 41 41 0 
			 Maidstone 17 17 0 
			 Manchester 127 127 0 
			 Moorland 90 90 0 
			 Moorland Open 1 1 0 
			 Morton Hall 12 12 0 
			 Mount 43 44 1 
			 New Hall 56 56 0 
			 North Sea Camp 2 2 0 
			 Northallerton 96 98 2 
			 Norwich 12 12 0 
			 Nottingham 84 85 1 
			 Onley 214 215 1 
			 Parc 315 315 0 
			 Parkhurst — — NOM 
			 Pentonville 139 144 5 
			 Peterborough 221 221 0 
			 Portland 189 190 1 
			 Preston 104 105 1 
			 Ranby 42 42 0 
			 Reading 44 45 1 
			 Risley 107 107 0 
			 Rochester 75 75 0 
			 Rye Hill 66 66 0 
			 Send 6 6 0 
			 Shepton Mallet 4 4 0 
			 Shrewsbury 39 39 0 
			 Stafford 76 76 0 
			 Standford Hill 4 4 0 
			 Stocken 58 59 1 
			 Stoke Heath 526 526 0 
			 Styal 58 58 0 
			 Sudbury 4 4 0 
			 Swaleside 51 52 1 
			 Swansea 19 19 0 
			 Swinfen Hall 87 87 0 
			 Thorn Cross 83 83 0 
			 Usk\Prescoed 8 11 3 
			 Verne 10 10 0 
			 Wakefield 18 17 -1 
			 Wandsworth 93 94 1 
			 Warren Hill 317 321 4 
			 Wayland 58 58 0 
			 Wealstun 21 22 1 
			 Wellingborough 35 35 0 
			 Werrington 141 141 0 
			 Wetherby 349 349 0 
			 Whatton 15 16 1 
			 Whitemoor 30 31 1 
			 Winchester 26 26 0 
			 Wolds 49 49 0 
			 Woodhill 52 52 0 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 136 137 1 
			 Wymott 28 28 0 
			 (1 )There is a slight lag in reporting which means that the provisional number mentioned here will rise a little in the coming months.  NOM = CNOMIS (offender management information system) sites where data is not readily available at the time of compilation. 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Prisoner on Officer 
			  Prison name  2007 data as in original answer( 1)  Latest 2007 data available( 1)  Difference 
			 Acklington 9 9 0 
			 Albany — — NOM 
			 Altcourse 50 50 0 
			 Ashfield 82 85 3 
			 Ashwell 2 2 0 
			 Aylesbury 11 13 2 
			 Bedford 12 12 0 
			 Belmarsh 22 22 0 
			 Birmingham 69 77 8 
			 Blakenhurst 35 35 0 
			 Blundeston 1 1 0 
			 Brinsford 11 12 1 
			 Bristol 14 14 0 
			 Brixton 32 32 0 
			 Brockhill 3 3 0 
			 Bronzefield 41 41 0 
			 Buckley Hall 11 11 0 
			 Bullingdon 21 21 0 
			 Bullwood Hall 2 2 0 
			 Camp Hill — — NOM 
			 Canterbury 4 4 0 
			 Cardiff 3 3 0 
			 Castington 41 41 0 
			 Channings Wood 15 16 1 
			 Chelmsford 21 21 0 
			 Coldingley 7 7 0 
			 Cookham Wood 2 2 0 
			 Dartmoor 8 8 0 
			 Deerbolt 34 34 0 
			 Doncaster 28 28 0 
			 Dorchester 8 8 0 
			 Dovegate 42 42 0 
			 Downview 11 11 0 
			 Drake Hall 0 0 0 
			 Durham 57 57 0 
			 East Sutton Park 0 0 0 
			 Eastwood Park 8 8 0 
			 Edmunds Hill 2 2 0 
			 Elmley 27 27 0 
			 Erlestoke 9 9 0 
			 Everthorpe 12 12 0 
			 Exeter 8 8 0 
			 Featherstone 16 16 0 
			 Feltham 102 103 1 
			 Ford 3 3 0 
			 Forest Bank 33 33 0 
			 Foston Hall 25 25 0 
			 Frankland 18 18 0 
			 Full Sutton 8 8 0 
			 Garth 8 8 0 
			 Gartree 1 1 0 
			 Glen Parva 50 50 0 
			 Gloucester 6 6 0 
			 Grendon/Spring Hill 0 1 1 
			 Guys Marsh 15 15 0 
			 Haverigg 17 17 0 
			 Hewell Grange 1 1 0 
			 High Down 65 65 0 
			 Highpoint 1.9 20 1 
			 Hindley 41 41 0 
			 Hollesley Bay 0 0 0 
			 Holloway 87 87 0 
			 Holme House 20 20 0 
			 Hull 31 30 -1 
			 Huntercombe 22 22 0 
			 Kingston 0 0 0 
			 Kirkham 2 2 0 
			 Lancaster 1 1 0 
			 Lancaster Farms 31 31 0 
			 Leeds 18 18 0 
			 Leicester 7 7 0 
			 Lewes 13 14 1 
			 Leyhill 3 3 0 
			 Lincoln 22 22 0 
			 Lindholme 19 19 0 
			 Littlehey 2 2 0 
			 Liverpool 30 30 0 
			 Long Lartin 15 15 0 
			 Low Newton 17 19 2 
			 Lowdham Grange 39 39 0 
			 Maidstone 5 5 0 
			 Manchester 77 77 0 
			 Moorland 13 13 0 
			 Morton Hall 1. 1 0 
			 Mount 19 19 0 
			 New Hall 45 46 1 
			 North Sea Camp 1 1 0 
			 Northallerton 5 5 0 
			 Norwich 1 1 0 
			 Nottingham 43 43 0 
			 Onley 22 23 1 
			 Parc 48 48 0 
			 Parkhurst — — NOM 
			 Pentonville 57 61 4 
			 Peterborough 111 111 0 
			 Portland 37 37 0 
			 Preston 44 44 0 
			 Ranby 16 16 0 
			 Reading 9 9 0 
			 Risley 23 23 0 
			 Rochester 4 4 0 
			 Rye Hill 41 41 0 
			 Send 1 1 0 
			 Shepton Mallet 1. 1 0 
			 Shrewsbury 5 5 0 
			 Stafford 8 8 0 
			 Standford Hill 1 1 0 
			 Stocken 9 9 0 
			 Stoke Heath 65 65 0 
			 Styal 45 45 0 
			 Sudbury 0 0 0 
			 Swaleside 5 5 0 
			 Swansea 0 0 0 
			 Swinfen Mall 9 9 0 
			 Thorn Cross 1 1 0 
			 Usk\Prescoed 1 1 0 
			 Verne 0 0 0 
			 Wakefield 12 12 0 
			 Wandsworth 31 31 0 
			 Warren Hill 46 46 0 
			 Wayland 10 10 0 
			 Wealstun 6 6 0 
			 Wellingborough 5 5 0 
			 Werrington 12 12 0 
			 Wetherby 34 34 0 
			 Whatton 11 11 0 
			 Whitemoor 21 22 1 
			 Winchester 3 3 0 
			 Wolds 2 2 0 
			 Woodhill 52 52 0 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 67 69 2 
			 Wymott 4 4 0 
			 (1 )There is a slight lag in reporting which means that the provisional number mentioned here will rise a little in the coming months.  NOM = CNOMIS (offender management information system) sites where data is not readily available at the time of compilation.

Repossession Orders: Greater London

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many home repossessions there have been in each London borough in each year since 2000;
	(2)  how many home repossessions there have been in each London court in each year since 2000.

Bridget Prentice: The following table shows the number of mortgage possession orders made in all London county courts since 2000.
	These figures do not indicate how many houses have been repossessed through the courts, since not all the orders will have resulted in the issue and execution of warrants of possession.
	The civil procedure rules state that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. However, county courts jurisdictions are not coterminous with London borough boundaries, and therefore any single court's repossession actions are likely to relate to homes in a number of different boroughs.
	
		
			  Number of mortgage possession orders made( 1, 2, 3)  in county courts( 4)  in London, 2000-07 
			  Court  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Barnet 156 151 193 203 288 556 580 524 
			 Bow 494 461 495 630 900 1,427 1,706 1,863 
			 Brentford 206 264 258 279 373 604 780 656 
			 Bromley 371 327 406 555 599 1,047 1,130 1,061 
			 Central London 89 84, 130 184 268 518 413 301 
			 Croydon 619 674 630 758 928 1,483 1,867 1,703 
			 Edmonton 467 446 525 532 650 1,122 1,251 1,183 
			 Ilford 257 236 236 245 404 573 652 — 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 151 140 154 213 214 358 425 312 
			 Lambeth 184 267 304 367 558 924 1,096 1,077 
			 Romford 365 317 319 421 496 920 992 1,024 
			 Uxbridge 246 265 254 265 356 521 603 553 
			 Wandsworth 163 186 203 248 342 557 586 485 
			 West London 84 96 95 135 147 290 296 226 
			 Willesden 323 390 323 445 502 900 1,093 845 
			 Woolwich 162 132 215 214 349 642 911 — 
			 Clerkenwell and Shoreditch 143 160 201 300 411 666 814 661 
			 Mayors and City 1 1 2 0 3 2 9 10 
			 Ilford and Woolwich(5) — — — — — — — 1,458 
			 London total 4,481 4,597 4,943 5,994 7,788 13,110 15,204 13,942 
			 (1) Local authority and private. (2) The court, following a judicial hearing, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction. (3) Includes suspended orders and orders made. (4) Does not include the small number of possession actions entered in the High Court. (5) The figures for Ilford and Woolwich county courts, which are without access to the possession claim on-line (PCOL) system, are aggregated for 2007. This is due to county courts with access to possession claim on-dine (PCOL) drawing mortgage and landlord possession orders on behalf of other county courts which has resulted in data being excluded from the Department's Management Information System (MIS), from which the figures in this table are sourced. An aggregate upward adjustment has therefore been applied to the numbers of orders made at these two county courts.

Young Offenders

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of young people appearing before restorative peer panels in  (a) Preston and  (b) England subsequently broke contractual obligations agreed with the panel in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the ages have been of the young people who have appeared before restorative peer panels in  (a) Preston and  (b) England since the hearings started;
	(3)  how many cases have been  (a) heard and  (b) resolved by restorative peer panels in (i) Preston and (ii) England since the hearings started;
	(4)  for which offences restorative peer panels may be used;
	(5)  which contract options have been taken up by young people appearing before restorative peer panels in  (a) Preston and  (b) England since their inception.

David Hanson: The Peer Panel project in Preston is still in its very early stages and there have been relatively few young people referred to it to date. The expectation however is that numbers will increase as the project develops. The Invest to Save Bid monies have been allocated to the project in Preston alone. In answer to the individual questions:
	no young people to date have broken the terms of the agreement they reached with the panel
	the ages of young people appearing before a Peer Panel have ranged from 11 to 16
	there have been 15 panel meetings to date involving people aged under 18; four have been completed, four are still proceeding and seven have been referred back to the referring officer as the young person did not attend peer panels can be used for a variety of offences but are particularly suitable for "quality of life low-level offences" such as vandalism, minor shoplifting and also for bullying and other school related matters. They are not used for serious matters.
	the options taken up to date include, apologising to the victim verbally or in writing, agreeing to change behaviour, payment for the damage caused, to act responsibly on public transport in future and to work with a mentor to facilitate a return to school. There have also been agreements to attend local agencies to address issues which affect the young person.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health to what factors his Department ascribes the increase in the number of people waiting more than four hours in accident and emergency departments indicated in the most recent quarterly figures.

Ben Bradshaw: The A and E data at national level does not allow us to examine causes of poor performance.
	It is for primary care trusts and strategic health authorities (SHAs) to work with national health service organisations to ensure they are providing an appropriate level of high quality care for patients. SHAs are actively engaged in this and working closely with challenged organisations to address issues that may arise which affect performance. These issues vary depending on local circumstances. All trusts need to be working to this operational standard.

Chesterfield Primary Care Trust: Manpower

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) nurses,  (b) midwives and  (c) doctors were working in the NHS in (i) Chesterfield primary care trust and (ii) Derbyshire county primary care trust in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested. However, the number of staff working within Derbyshire County Primary Care Trust(1) (PCTs) in each year from 2002-2006 is shown in the following table.
	(1) In 2006 Derbyshire PCT was formed from a complete merger of Amber Valley PCT, Chesterfield PCT, Derbyshire Dales and South Derbyshire PCT, Erewash PCT, High Peak and Dales PCT and North Eastern Derbyshire PCT. Figures prior to 2006 are an aggregate of these predecessor organisations. The Midwives for the areas covered by these PCTs are all employed by the Chesterfield Royal NHS Foundation Trust.
	
		
			  As at 30 September each year 
			   Number 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 All Staff(1,)(2) 1,991 2,011 2,126 2,192 2,102 
			 All Doctors(1, 2) 452 475 494 505 507 
			 Hospital and Community  
			 Health Services Medical and Dental(2) 50 51 53 53 55 
			 General practitioners (GPs) (excluding retainers and registrars(2) 402 424 441 452 452 
			 Qualified nursing staff(3) 1,276 1,282 1,331 1,394 1,271 
			 Practice Nurses 263 254 301 293 324 
			 (1) Excludes medical hospital practitioners and medical clinical assistants, most of whom are GPs working part time in hospitals.  (2) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) includes GP providers and GP Others.  (3) More accurate validation processes in 2006 have resulted in the identification and removal of 9,858 duplicate non-medical staff records out of the total workforce figure of 1.3 million in 2006. Earlier years' figures could not be accurately validated in this way and so will be slightly inflated. The level of inflation in earlier years' figures is estimated to be less than 1 per cent, of total across all non-medical staff groups for headcount figures (and negligible for full time equivalents). This should be taken into consideration.   Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental, Non-Medical and general and personal medical services Workforce Census.

Departmental Databases

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what obligations his Department and its agencies place on contractors in relation to the audit of personal data and IT equipment.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department and its agencies have non disclosure agreements with their contractors and contractual obligations for them to permit and facilitate any audit of personal data and IT equipment. Contracts include terms and conditions covering confidentiality, data protection and freedom of information.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2008,  Official Report, column 670W, on drugs: rehabilitation, what definition of in treatment is used in the Answer.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 26 February 2008
	The figures given in answer of the 19 February 2008,  Official Report, column 670W, are taken from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS). NDTMS is a data collection system used to maintain treatment activity.
	The definition used by the treatment providers submitting data to NDTMS is contained within the Models of Care guidance document is as follows:
	"... a range of interventions that are intended to remedy an identified drug-related problem or condition relating to a person's physical, psychological or social (including legal) well-being. This data should include:
	drug misusers being treated/assessed/referred for tier 3 or 4 services;
	(substitute/detox prescribing, structured counselling, structured day care programme, other psychotherapeutic interventions such as cognitive behavioural therapy and motivational interventions, residential rehabilitation or community-based aftercare programmes);
	those referred from the criminal justice system;
	drug misusers in treatment who are resident in the drug action team area regardless of where they are being treated;
	all drug misusers for whom a service is provided, irrespective of setting and funding (but excluding drug misusers treated in prison). This will include drug misusers receiving services from national health service, voluntary and private residential and non-residential drug treatment agencies as well as general practitioners treating drug misusers.
	Structured drug treatment follows assessment and is delivered according to a care plan, with clear goals, which is regularly reviewed with the client."
	 Source
	Models of Care for the Treatment of Adult Drug Misusers (National Treatment Agency, 2002).

Private Finance Initiative

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list his Department's  (a) current and  (b) planned private finance initiative and public private partnership contracts by (i) total end of life debt owed by the state by final year of payment and (ii) annual state payment by year; and what the total comparative value is of the assets provided.

Ben Bradshaw: There are many hundreds of contracts negotiated annually between national health service bodies and private sector suppliers for a full range of services and equipment that involve elements of public private partnerships. These range from service contracts with private hospitals and social care placements to leases of equipment and private finance initiative contracts.
	Of the three major areas of public private partnership contracts for which information is collected centrally—private finance initiative (PFI) schemes, NHS local improvement finance trusts (NHS LIFT) and independent treatment centres (ISTCs)—lists have been placed in the Library. For PFI and NHS LIFT the lists show only those schemes which have reached financial close as it is not possible to predict final capital values and annual payments on schemes which are still in the planning or procurement stages. The lists show the estimated capital value of each scheme (an approximation to asset value), where appropriate, as well as the annual unitary payment made by each NHS body to their private sector partner.
	For ISTCs, the table shows the total contract value for Wave 1 schemes. The total contract value represents the estimated nominal value at the time of signing, calculated in accordance with an estimate of the inflation index as specified in each contract. Procurement of Phase 2 of the ISTC programme is ongoing and all contractual values remain commercial in confidence at this time.
	In the case of the PFI schemes, under current accounting standards the facilities do not appear on the balance sheet of the NHS body during the life of the contract; and by the end of the contract all the debt raised by the private sector has been paid back. So
	although the facility will have a residual value when it reverts to the ownership of the NHS trust or primary care trust at the end of the contract, it will go on their balance sheets as an asset without an off-setting liability or 'debt'.
	In the case of NHS LIFT schemes the facilities also do not appear on the balance sheet of the NHS body during the life of the contract. However, the shorter contract lengths (typically 25 years compared with 30 or more in a PFI scheme) means there is a small outstanding debt owed by the NHS LIFT project company at the end of the contract (i.e. their outstanding borrowings). In NHS LIFT this is a project company 'risk' in terms of recouping enough from the future use or disposal of the asset to meet this debt (known as 'residual value risk'). The NHS body has an option to buy the facility or walk away from the contract, in which case the project company must look to sell the facility on the open market or lease it out again. So again, there is no 'debt' owed by the NHS body at the end of the contract.
	In the case of the ISTCs, where the contract lengths are much shorter, many of the contracts involve a residual value payment to the contractor at the end of the term. This means that in this case the 'residual value' risk lies with the NHS (i.e. the risk here is that the theoretical residual value will exceed the actual market value that can be achieved). So there is a 'debt' owed by the NHS body at the end of the contract. Information on the ISTC contracts that involve residual value (RV) payments and the amounts in each case have also been placed in the Library.

Psychiatry: Waiting Lists

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what average length of time a patient waited to be referred for psychological therapies in  (a) England and  (b) Wirral West constituency in the last 12 months.

Ivan Lewis: The length of time a patient treated by Wirral primary care trust waits for psychological therapies varies by the severity of their condition. However, since December 2007, waiting times for mild to moderate mental health treatment are under 18 weeks, and waiting times for more complex therapies and cognitive behaviour therapy are, in the vast majority of cases, a maximum of 18 weeks.
	Average waiting times for psychological therapies are not collected centrally. These waiting times will improve over the next few years as the Government's substantial additional investment in improving access to psychological therapies, announced in October last year, begins to be rolled-out across England.

Regional European Offices: Health

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the address is of each of the regional health Brussels offices.

Dawn Primarolo: Where health is covered at a European Union (EU) level by regional offices in Brussels, it is addressed as part of a broad range of policies. Decisions to fund and prioritise health in regional offices in Brussels are the responsibility of Regional Assemblies and local authorities.
	At present, the Northwest Health Brussels office is the only office established by a United Kingdom region to work solely on health affairs at an EU level. This is office is located at:
	North West Health Brussels Office
	North West House
	Rue du Marteau 21
	Brussels
	Belgium
	B1000